01. Nosferatu / 1922 / Germany / F.W. Murnau [commentary ☼] (10/1) [Reg 2 DVD]
- A film nostalgic for me, since it was literally the first I saw at age 5, at the Public library, the film is an orchestra of nightmareish imagery and the commentary tracks provides alot of pertinent information.

03. Black Cat, The / 1981 / Italy / Lucio Fulci☼ (10/1) [DVD]
- one of the Fulci's unsung classics that features an all British cast and strong story and visuals - very surprising and entertaining films.

04. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers / 1988 / US / Michael A. Simpson ☼ (10/1) [DVD]
- the slaughter continues and with glee and reckless abandonment, the killer is a hoot and the kills get more and more over the top. Two films that define 'fun'.

06. [REC] / 2007 / Spain / J. Balagueró + P. Plaza ☼ (10/2) [Reg 2 DVD]
- the film lives up to it's claims and being suspenseful and fast cutting. A definate highlight of the challenge so far. The surprise is great, as it's seems plausible to the situation

10. Basket Case 3: The Progeny / 1992 / USA / Frank Henenlotter ☼ (10/2) [DVD]
- Definately better than Part 2, and delivers more of the grue, the acting is so hammy, it saves what could have been a train wreck of a film

11. Prophecy / 1979 / USA / John Frankenheimer☼ (10/3) [DVD]
- interesting premise, but utter fails with a very trunscated ending that doesn't solve any of the problems the film set ups.

12. Monstroid / 1979 / USA / Kenneth Hartford☼ (10/3) [DVD]
- an exercise in sheer tedium, way too long could have been 60 minutes - tops, easily, the camera work is attrocious and the lighting, or the lack of it, makes some of the attacks near invisible to see what the hell is happening. John Carradine is wasted here as the town's priest.

13. Rodan /1956 / Japan / Ishirô Honda [82min cut: ☼ (10/3) [DVD]
- one of my first introductions to the whole giant Japanese monsters genre, this is first time for me to see it in it's unaltered Japanese cut, the wires holding up Rodan's wings are so blatant in shots.

15. Onibaba / 1964 / Japan / Kaneto Shindô ☼ (10/3) [DVD]
- A film that doesn't immediately strikes as being 'horror' but as the story progesses, the tone becomes entrancing and menacing. The cinematography is haunting and lyrical. Surprising amounts of female nudity abound for a 1960's film

19. Blue Sunshine / 1976 / USA / Jeff Lieberman ☼ (10/4) [DVD]
- starts out to be murder mystery, but by the end of the film just deteriorates into a mess of a film. Interesting premise, bad ending.

20. Ruins, The / 2008 / Australia-USA / Carter Smith / 93min☼ (10/4) [DVD]
- was this supposed to be scary? The young cast and effects were pluses, but one feels the story was slighted in the process. At just slightly over an hour and half, not alot happens

22. Return of the Evil Dead / 1973 / Spain / Amando de Ossorio / 91min☼ (10/5) [DVD]
- more of the same, but extra gory fun... some characters do some truly dumb things, like say not being real quiet and maybe tip toeing past the blind Templers, but nonetheless the cast is mostly foder for the Templers to hack and kill off.

23. Night of the Seagulls / 1975 / Spain / Amando de Ossorio ☼ (10/5) [DVD]
- the most atmospheric and satisfying to me, that is chilling but not the most gory of the series

24. Ghost Galleon, The / 1974 / Spain / Amando de Ossorio☼ (10/5) [DVD]
- the weakest of the series and the most inept, featuring some shoddy model work at the end

25. Ilsa She Wolf the SS / 1975 / USA / Don Edmonds [commentary: ☼ ] (10/5) [DVD]
- a surprising illuminating and funny commentary track from the producer, the director and star, it helps that it is moderated. Who knew that this was filmed for 9 days only?

26. Men Behind the Sun / 1988 / Hong Kong / Tun Fei Mou (10/5) [DVD]
- as vicious as I remember, yet amongst all the extreme gore, the film interperses an engrossing story with young characters being the witnesses and enactors to the Japanese attrocities.

27. In A Glass Cage / 1985 / Spain / Agustí Villaronga (10/6) [DVD]
- laced with a sick sense of dread, unspeakable taboos and ultra violence, the film seems like a template and homage to the films of Argento, Pasolini and Del Toro, all rolled into one.

29. Fright Night / 1985 / USA / Tom Holland (w/ Icons of Fear commentary track #1: ☼) (10/6) [DVD]
- The commentary track reveals alot of great stories of the production and is quite illuminating. Hadn't seen this in years, surprised how fresh the story was, sans the 80's hair and music. Forgot how 'gay' the film was

30. Creepshow / 1982 / USA / George Romero [commentary ☼] (10/7) [Reg 2 DVD]
- Very insightful recollection from Romero and Savini, if a tad redundant on 'find the ashtray' (the murder weapon from the first story) which seems to appear in all the episodes

31. The Monster Squad / 1987 / USA / Fred Drekker [Director + cast commentary ☼] (10/7) [DVD]
- Commentary starts off slow, and of what is of interest is of little substance. A tad disappointing, if you ask me

33. Return of the Living Dead, The / 1984 / USA / Dan O'Bannon [Cast/Crew/'Undead' commentary track: ☼] (10/8) [DVD]
- I forgot how much fun and outrageous this movie is - even while watching this with the very amusing 'cast' commentary track (the description and talk of actual morgue techniques are gnarly to say the least) - the tarman still freaked me out

34. Shaun of the Dead / 2004 / UK / Edgar Wright [Cast commentary track: ☼] (10/9) [DVD]
- Did I really need to find out Simon Pegg shaves his balls, NO - TMI! The cast held their liquor real well, considering they drink around three bottle of wine during the commentary session

36. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street / 1982 / USA / Terry Hughes ☼ (10/10) [DVD]
- Compared to the film version, the leads of this taped Tony award winning production are superior in every way. Angela Landsbury is "sweet as pie" and George Hearn is formidable and ferocious BUT the film's performance's of Toby, Johanna, and Anthony are better cast

37. Quarantine / 2008 / USA / John Erick Dowdle ☼ (10/10) [Theatre]
- Not necessarily a bad remake, there are some things they improved upon, but the omission of the reveal from the original doesn't have the same impact

52. Children of the Corn / 1984 / USA / Fritz Kiersch ☼ (10/14) [DVD]
- One of my all time favourite Stephen King shorts stories, here though even with the great pairing of Horton and Hamilton as the leads, this was a mixed bag - pretty average

53. Wicker Man, The / 1973 / UK / Robin Hardy [99min version w/ commentary ☼] (10/14) [Reg. 2 DVD]
- Christopher Lee could read the phone book and make it sound rivetting, alot of illuminating stories about the filming as well as the many version and post production editing/distribution and success of the film

54. Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom / 1975 / Italy / P. Pasolini [BFI uncut version w/Italian language track ☼] (10/15) [Reg 2 DVD]
- Even uprezzed to 1080i the transfer/restoration looks amazing, first time hearing the original language track and not the English dub

60. Dracula: Pages of A Virgin's Diary / 2002 / Canada / Guy Maddin [commentary: ☼] (10/15) [DVD]
- a filmed ballet version of the classic story - does it work? yes it does, and in Maddin's hand it's visually over the top

61. Pumpkinhead / 1988 / USA / Stan Winston [commentary: ☼] (10/15) [DVD]
- given it was shot in 1988, the film and story as noted in the commentary track is timeless

63. Hellraiser: Bloodline / 1996 / USA / 'Alan Smithee' (Kevin Yagher) ☼ (10/19) [DVD]
- better than III, but production values tend to sway to SciFi Channel standards, the story is unique. Some of the editing seems a bit off

64. Hellraiser: Hellseeker / 2002 / USA / Rick Bota ☼] (10/19) [DVD]
- a good script, claustophobic story that cluminates in a appropriately bizarre ending, a surprise for the series

65. Wicked City / 1987 / Japan / Yoshiaki Kawajiri [5.1 English Dub ☼] (10/20) [DVD]
- I think the only feature length anime film that has a character turn into a large spider thing-a-ma-jig and have spiderwebs shoot out her nether regions - the stylish 'noir-esque' animation is stunning to say the least

66. Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV / 2000 / USA / [Lloyd Kaufman commentary ☼] (10/20) [DVD]
- Lloyd Kaufman is an absolute hoot to listen to. I don't know what it is, but the scene where the old lady gets hit by the car and then her head crushed by the wheels had in me in hysterics.

67. Cat O'Nine Tails / 1971 / Italy / Dario Argento ☼ (10/21) [DVD]
- a tad on the long side, but still engaging, not Argento's best, but still better than his worst films. The film to video transfer looks razor sharp and very colourful

68. Four Flies on Black Velvet / 1971 / Italy / Dario Argento ☼ (10/21) [DVD]
- Argento's visual style is on the low end, but is saved by a finale featuring a truly poetic and beautiful death scene

69. Lisa and the Devil / 1973 / Italy / Mario Bava ☼ (10/22) [DVD]
- Enigmatic, yet intriguing horror film that is both frustrating at times but still memorable. Some of the acting seems a little off, but as in the Mario Bava documentary, he choose actors based on their looks sometimes not on their actual acting ability

70. Baron Blood / 1972 / Italy / Mario Bava ☼ (10/22) [DVD]
- Again, the acting here isn't that stellar, given that Joseph Cotton is in the cast, but once again, the cinematography is the highlight. The castle is appropriately creepy as well as the overall film

72. House of Exorcism / 1974 / Italy / 'Mickey Lion' ☼ (10/23) [DVD]
- The exorcism scenes added are so gratuitous and so out of place when edited into 'Lisa and the Devi' that it destroys the surreal original film.

October 1:
1) Nosferatu (1922) - Ultimate Edition DVD ****
Kicked off this year with my first viewing of this wonderful restoration of the classic of all classics. Amazing how truly terrifying parts of this movie are. One scene that keeps sticking in my head is when Orlok is standing in a row boat carrying the coffin. Some truly chilling moments here.

October 2:
2) The Ghost Ship (1943) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD **** (new to me)
Wow...this was a great movie! Better than expected even though I really enjoyed the few other Lewton pictures I've see so far. The knife fight scene was surprisingly "gory", especially the part where he caught the blade with his hand and held on...ouch! Bonus points for the crushing death by giant chain.

October 5:
3) The Leopard Man (1943) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD *** (new to me)
I wasn't in love with this one quite as much as The Ghost Ship, but still a nicely shot, atmospheric movie with a few memorable moments. The blood slowly spreading under the door was nice. Also when the daughter was on her way home from the grocery, the way the darkness was portrayed truly was frightening and made you feel what she felt. The castanets got extremely annoying after a while though. "...I could do better with my teeth in a cold shower.." nice!

4) Dracula (1931) - The Legacy Collection DVD ****
Another one of the ultimate "classic" horror movies. Is there a creeper guy than Bela Lugosi?

October 6:
5) The Body Snatcher (1945) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD ***1/2 (new to me)
Another great Lewton classic. I'm really enjoying the heck out of this collection. Many creepy moments here. Karloff is one creepy guy even without the Frankenstein make-up! His scene with Lugosi was a nice treat.

So I'm a little behind, but I'm loving the fact that I haven't watched anything newer than the mid-40s yet. They sure don't make them like they used to!

October 9:
6) The 7th Victim (1943) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD *** (new to me)
Not bad, but not great compared to some of Lewton's other work. I was admittidly a bit distracted while watching this though (a 9 month old will do that!), so I really need to watch this one again to really soak it in. I have a feeling it is better than I thought it was and I missed a lot.

October 11:
7) The Evil Dead (1981) - Book of the Dead DVD ****
Finally going with something a little newer! This movie still amazes me with how much was done with so little. A great combination of truly intense scenes and full on cheese...the perfect balance.

8) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Ultimate Edition DVD *****
I've said it before and I'll say it again as it's all that really needs to be said...TCM is the definition of horror.

9) The Fog (1980) - DVD ****1/2
One of my all time favorites. Not sure what it is exactly, but I love this movie.

10) The Hitcher (1986) - DVD ***1/2
More great 80s horror. Some very tense scenes here.

October 12:
11) I Walked With a Zombie (1943) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD ****
Very good, very creepy movie. Atmospheric and amazingly shot. There's a lot to love here. The guy that guards the path to the voodoo site is terribly creepy...the scene where we first see him sends chills down my spine.

12) Dead Silence (2007) - HD-DVD ***1/2
This movie gets a bad reputation. It is much better than most reviews would lead you to believe. Yea...there is some bad dialog and moments where you have to turn off your brain, but these are balanced out with some very scary moments. It has a good atmosphere and some great camera work. Plus, who isn't creeped out by those damn dolls. The first time the eyes move...that's creepy...I don't care who you are. The twist at the end is a bit hokey, but also kind of cool as long as you aren't taking the movie too seriously.

October 16:
14) Shadows in the Dark, The Val Lewton Legacy (2005) - The Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD *** (new to me)
Very nice documentary, if a bit too brief. Lots of good information, and great interviews with other horror greats.

October 17:
15) Suspiria (1977) - Limited Edition DVD *****
I love this movie. The colors, textures, soundtrack, cinematography, and beautiful sets come together to create the perfect nightmare captured on film. I can't wait until the day this is released on Blu Ray....drool....

October 18:
16) Friday the 13th: The Series: The Inheritance (pilot) (1987) - The First Season DVD **** (WILDCARD 1)
One of my all time favorite shows growing up, finally on DVD! While the acting is choppy as they are clearly not yet comfortable in their roles, this holds up remarkably well. I can't believe this is over 20 years old now!

October 19:
17) American Psycho (2000) - Uncut Killer Collector's Edition DVD **** (new to me)
Can't believe I have never seen this movie before. Much like the first time I watched Fight Club, this movie was NOTHING like what I imagined or assumed it would be. What a great, twisted, hilarious, nasty little movie. Bateman...Batman...coincidence? I love that so much is left unanswered...great mind screw.

October 21:
18) The Ruins (2008) - Blu-Ray **** (new to me)
I had low expectations after reading some bad reviews, and this blew them away. Lots of tension and a real feeling of dread and hopelessness. The scene where they were looking for the cell phone was truly terrifying!

October 24:
19) The Happening (2008) - Blu-Ray ***1/2 (new to me)
I might take some flack for this, but honestly I think this is getting a bad rap. I was very entertained by it and though it was actually one of M's better movies. My only real complaint was some of the writing was bad (then again I love Argento...and we know how great his writing is), and the acting from the two leads was pretty wooden. I know they are both better actors than that, so I'm guessing that is what M wanted, but I'm not sure why. Looking past that though, it had a great premise, some good tension (wind blowing across the fields, etc), and some awesome kills. The imagery of the people running off of the roof was great. Not a bad movie at all, so if you are on the fence, give it a shot. My expectations were extremely low, and I was pleasantly surprised. The Blu-Ray quality was awesome as well. I will add this to my collection.

October 25:
20) Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (2008) - DVD **1/2 (new to me)
Ugg. We loved the first one, but this one is missing almost everything that made that one great. There were some funny bits, and a couple good moments, but it really wasn't all that great. Still worth a watch, but don't expect too much from it.

October 27:
21) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Infinifilm DVD *****
One of my all time favorites, this one never loses it's power over me. A bit dated in places, but that does not hurt it in my eyes. Still some truly scary moments. This one is like comfort food for me. Excellent Infinifilm DVD...but I still can't wait for a US version of the Blu-ray. Hopefully it will be a nice special edition with the works too.

22) Scream (1996) - DVD *****
Another all time favorite of mine. This movie reminded me how much I love horror movies and brought me back to the genre after a couple years. Started the whole self-aware sub-genre and gave horror a much needed shot in the arm when it was released. It never did get the great DVD that it deserved (can't believe we couldn't even get a bare bones but anamorphic release!), so the Blu-ray will be welcomed with open arms, hopefully soon!

October 30:
23) The Gravedancers (2006) - DVD ***1/2 (new to me)
We've enjoyed all of the first year 8 Films to Die For movies so far, and this one wasn't an exception. Only problem as mentioned by others is the overblown CGI ending. If they would have spread the money they spent on that around a little to improve the FX through the rest of the movie, it would have been better spent. As-is though, this was a very enjoyable movie.

October 31:
24) Halloween (1978) - BluRay *****
First time seeing this classic in high-def, and wow! Awesome all around. Very 3D look to the film in many places. Nothing more can be said about the movie itself...this is why I love this time of year!

Watch films in at least two languages other than English.
-X- First language: French, Frontière(s); Eyes Without a Face
-X- Second language: Japanese, Reincarnation (Rinne); Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango)
-X- Third language: German, Vampyr

Watch a film in each of the following subgenres/types:
-X- Vampire - Masterpiece Theatre: Bram Stoker's Dracula; Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein; Dracula; Perfect Creature; Bram Stoker's Dracula: The Love Story to Die For; Dracula's Daughter; The Lost Boys; Lost Boys: The Tribe; Interview with the Vampire; Queen of the Damned; Vampyr;

Spoiler:

The Hamiltons

; 30 Days of Night
-X- Frankenstein - Frankenstein (1910); Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein; Son of Frankenstein; Flesh for Frankenstein
-X- Werewolf - Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein; Werewolf of London; An American Werewolf in London; The Company of Wolves; Ginger Snaps; Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed; Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning
-X- Mummy - The Mummy's Hand
-X- Invisible Man - Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein; The Invisible Woman
-X- Ghost/haunting - The Messengers; House on Haunted Hill (1959); The Dark; Below; Reincarnation (Rinne); Ghost Story; Crazy Eights; Pulse; Pulse 2; Dead Birds; Shutter; The Innocents; The Ring; Monster House; Unrest; House on Haunted Hill (1999); Return to House on Haunted Hill; The Fog
-X- Witchcraft/satanic/religious - Black Sunday; From Beyond the Grave; Devour; The Reaping; Masters of Horror: The Fair Haired Child
-X- Zombie - The Return of the Living Dead; Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Wicked Little Things; Resident Evil: Extinction; Night of the Comet; Shaun of the Dead; Masters of Horror: Homecoming; Dawn of the Dead (2004)
-X- Slasher/psycho/homicidal maniac - The Hitcher; A Nightmare on Elm Street; A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge; A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors; A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master; A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child; Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare; Wes Craven's New Nightmare; Frontière(s); Black Dahlia; The Unknown; Thr3e; Dark Ride; The Midnight Meat Train; Masters of Horror: Incident On and Off a Mountain Road; Vacancy; Halloween (2007); Prom Night (2007); Prom Night (1980); Turistas; Hannibal Rising; Masters of Horror: Family; Stupid Teenagers Must Die!; Halloween (1978); Halloween II; Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
-X- Monster/creature feature/Godzilla - The Ruins; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Revenge of the Creature; The Blob; Masters of Horror: Jenifer; Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango); Masters of Horror: Deer Woman; Mulberry St.; The Funhouse; The Deaths of Ian Stone; AvP: Alien vs. Predator; AvPR: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem; Cloverfield; Unearthed
-X- Documentary - All About The Birds
-X- Musical - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
-X- Spoof/comedy - Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein; The Return of the Living Dead; The Invisible Woman; Night of the Comet; Shaun of the Dead
-X- Revenge - A Nightmare on Elm Street; House on Haunted Hill (1959); Dead Silence; Prom Night (1980); Masters of Horror: Family; House on Haunted Hill (1999); The Fog
-X- Killer/evil doll - Dolls; Dead Silence
-X- Killer/evil animal - Primeval; Lake Placid; Black Sheep; The Birds
-X- Killer/evil child - John Carpenter's Village of the Damned; Village of the Damned; Clive Barker's The Plague; Joshua
-X- Giallo - Black Sunday
-X- J horror - Reincarnation (Rinne)
-X- MST3K/rifftrax/CT - Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos: Hands of Fate
-X- film and its remake - Village of the Damned/John Carpenter's Village of the Damned; House of Usher (1960)/The House of Usher (2006); House on Haunted Hill (1959/1999); Halloween (1978/2007)
-X- based on a video game - Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction
-X- based on a novel - Masterpiece Theatre: Bram Stoker's Dracula; The Ruins; Candyman; From Beyond the Grave; The Dark; Dracula; Thr3e; Ghost Story; John Carpenter's Village of the Damned; The House of Usher; The Midnight Meat Train; Village of the Damned; House of Usher; The Company of Wolves; Interview with the Vampire; Queen of the Damned; Eyes Without a Face; Hannibal Rising; The Innocents; 30 Days of Night
-X- directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis or Uwe Boll or Ulli Lommel - Black Dahlia
-X- won an Academy Award -- any category - An American Werewolf in London (Best Makeup)
-X- silent film - The Execution of Mary Stuart; Le chaudron infernal; Frankenstein; The Unknown
-X- Criterion version film - The Blob
-X- with commentary - Evil Dead II
-X- film and at least two of its sequels - A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-7; Resident Evil 1-3; Ginger Snaps 1-3; Halloween/Halloween II/Halloween H20
-X- anthology film - From Beyond the Grave
-X- takes place on a holiday - Halloween (2007); Halloween (1978); Halloween II; Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
-X- takes place in space - Event Horizon
-X- takes place on or under the sea - Below
-X- animated film - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride; It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; Looney Tunes: Transylvania 6-5000; Invader ZIM: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom; South Park: Pinkeye; Monster House
-X- called "Night of the ..." - Night of the Comet
-X- called "Return of the ..." - The Return of the Living Dead
-X- called "Revenge of the ..." - Revenge of the Creature
-X- called "Attack of the ..." - Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango)
-X- with the words "Living Dead" in the title - The Return of the Living Dead

Watch one film from every decade of film history.-X- 1890 - The Execution of Mary Stuart
-X- 1900 - Le Chaudron Infernal
-X- 1910 - Frankenstein
-X- 1920 - Nosferatu; The Phantom of the Opera-X- 1930 - King Kong; The Mummy; Dracula (Spanish Version); Dracula; The Invisible Man; The Mystery of the Wax Museum; The Ghoul-X- 1940 - The Wolf Man; She-Wolf of London; The Picture of Dorian Gray; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein-X- 1950 -Creature From the Black Lagoon; Revenge of the Creature; Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy; The Blob; The Giant Gila Monster; Terror in the Haunted House; The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues; Frankenstein's Daughter; The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas; The Horror of Dracula-X- 1960 -The Birds; 13 Ghosts; Carnival of Souls; The Crawling Hand; Night of the Living Dead; Black Sabbath; Village of the Damned; House of Usher; The Haunting; The Flesh and the Fiends; Atom Age Vampire-X- 1970 - The Legend of Hell House; Halloween; The Island of Dr. Moreau; Flesh For Frankenstein; Burnt Offerings; The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane; Horror Express; MST3K:Godzilla vs. Megalon; Rocky Horror Picture Show-X- 1980 - Near Dark; The Lost Boys; The Believers; Amityville II: The Possession; The Company of Wolves; The Evil Dead; An American Werewolf in London; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Night of the Comet; Bram Stoker's: To Die For; The Thing; The Blob; Ghost Story; Madman-X- 1990 - Event Horizon; Army of Darkness; Sleepy Hollow; Lake Placid; Virus; John Carptenter's Village of the Damned; The Relic; Blade; The Nightmare Before Christmas; Tale of a Vampire; An American Werewolf in Paris-X- 2000 - 28 Days Later; Catacombs; Nine Lives; Curse of Alcatraz; The Lost Boys: The Tribe; When a Stranger Calls; Doom; Shadow of the Vampire; Masterpiece Theatre: Bram Stoker's Dracula; The Reaping; Dead Silence; The Messengers; Pitch Black; Clive Barker's The Plague; BloodRayne 2: Deliverance; The Covenant; The Grudge; The Grudge 2; Ghost Ship; Primeval; Thr3e; Cloverfield; The Dark; The Cradle; House of Usher; Blade II; Blade III: Trinity; Bloody Mallory; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Attack of the Sabertooth; 28 Weeks Later; Return of the Curse; Ju-on (The Grudge); Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction; The Hills Are Alive; The Ring; AvP Alien vs Predator; Frankenstein vs The Creature From Blood Cove; Shaun of the Dead; Alien vs. Predator: Requiem; Unearthed; Lake Placid 2; Return to House on Haunted Hill; 30 Days of Night; Jeepers Creepers; Underworld; The Thirst; Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield; Underworld: Evolution

Watch a film for each rating:-X- Unrated (pre-MPAA) - Nosferatu; King Kong; Revenge of the Creature; Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy; The Mummy; The Giant Gila Monster; The Phantom of the Opera; Dracula; She-Wolf of London; Terror in the Haunted House; The Invisible Man; The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues; The Crawling Hand; Black Sabbath; Village of the Damned; House of Usher; Atom Age Vampire; Frankenstein's Daughter; The Picture of Dorian Gray; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein; The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas; The Horror of Dracula; The Ghoul-X- G - Creature From the Black Lagoon-X- PG - The Island of Dr. Moreau; Burnt Offerings; The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane; The Nightmare Before Christmas-X- PG-13 -The Birds; The Mummy (1999); The Messengers; The Covenant; The Grudge; The Grudge 2; Thr3e; Cloverfield; The Ring; AvP: Alien vs Predator-X- R - Near Dark; Nine Lives; Curse of Alcatraz; The Lost Boys; Event Horizon; Shadow of the Vampire; Army of Darkness; Sleepy Hollow; Amityville II: The Possession; Lake Placid; Ghost Ship; Primeval; The Company of Wolves; Halloween; Carnival of Souls; Virus; John Carpenter's Village of the Damned; The Dark; House of Usher; An American Werewolf in London; The Relic; Blade; Blade II; Horror Express; Drive Thru; Brutal; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Attack of the Sabertooth; 28 Weeks Later; Ju-on (the Grudge); Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction; Shaun of the Dead; Bram Stoker's: To Die For; The Thing; The Blob; Ghost Story; Tale of a Vampire; Unearthed; An American Werewolf in Paris; Return to House on Haunted Hill; 30 Days of Night; Jeepers Creepers; Underworld; Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield; Madman; Underworld: Evolution; Rocky Horror Picture Show-X- NC-17 - The Evil Dead-X- X (not porn; several horror films were rated X) - Flesh For Frankenstein-X- Unrated (post-MPAA) - Catacombs; The Lost Boys: The Tribe; Dead Silence; Pitch Black; The Legend of Hell House; BloodRayne 2: Deliverance; Night of the Living Dead; The Cradle; Blade III: Trinity; Night of the Comet; Return of the Curse; The Hills Are Alive; Frankenstein vs The Creature From Blood Cove; Alien vs. Predator: Requiem; Lake Placid 2; The Thirst

Watch a film starring:-X- Bela Lugosi - Dracula-X- Lon Chaney Sr. - The Phantom of the Opera-X- Boris Karloff - The Mummy; House of Frankenstein; The Ghoul-X- Lon Chaney Jr. - The Wolf Man; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein-X- Vincent Price - House of Usher-X- Peter Cushing - The Flesh and the Fiends; The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas; The Horror of Dracula-X- Christopher Lee - Horror Express; The Horror of Dracula-X- Robert Englund -A Nightmare on Elm Street-X- Bruce Campbell - Army of Darkness; The Evil Dead-X- Jamie Lee Curtis - Halloween; Virus

Watch films in at least two languages other than English.-X- First language, Spanish, Dracula-X- Second language, French, Bloody Mallory-X- Third Language, Japanese, Ju-on

Watch a film in each of the following subgenres/types:-X- Vampire - Nosferatu; Near Dark; The Lost Boys; The Lost Boys: The Tribe; Shadow of the Vampire; Masterpiece Theatre: Bram Stoker's Dracula; Dracula; Blade; Blade II; Blade III: Trinity; Atom Age Vampire; Bram Stoker's: To Die For; Tale of a Vampire; 30 Days of Night; Underworld; The Thirst; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein; The Horror of Dracula; Underworld: Evolution-X- Frankenstein -Flesh For Frankenstein; Frankenstein's Daughter; Frankenstein vs The Creature From Blood Cove; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein-X- Werewolf - The Wolf Man; She-Wolf of London; An American Werewolf in London; An American Werewolf in Paris; House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein-X- Mummy - Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy, The Mummy (1932), The Mummy (1999)-X- Invisible Man - The Invisible Man-X- Ghost/haunting -The Messengers; The Legend of Hell House; The Grudge; The Grudge 2; Ghost Ship; 13 Ghosts; Terror in the Haunted House; Carnival of Souls; The Dark; Burnt Offerings; The Cradle; The Haunting; Ju-on (The Grudge); Ghost Story; Return to House on Haunted Hill-X- Witchcraft/satanic/religious - The Believers; The Reaping; Amityville II: The Possession; The Covenant-X- Zombie - 28 Days Later; Night of the Living Dead; 28 Weeks Later; Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction-X- Slasher/psycho/homicidal maniac - When a Stranger Calls; Halloween; Drive Thru; Brutal; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield; Madman-X- Monster/creature feature/Godzilla - King Kong; Creature From the Black Lagoon; Revenge of the Creature; The Blob; The Giant Gila Monster; The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues; Cloverfield; The Relic; MST3K: Godzilla vs. Megalon; AvP: Alien vs Predator; The Thing; The Blob; Alien vs. Predator: Requiem; Unearthed; Jeepers Creepers; The Ghoul-X- Documentary -Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed-X- Musical -The Nightmare Before Christmas; The Rocky Horror Picture Show-X- Spoof/comedy - Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy; Shaun of the Dead; The Rocky Horror Picture Show
-X- Revenge - Nine Lives-X- Killer/evil doll - Dead Silence-X- Killer/evil animal -The Birds, Lake Placid; Primeval; Attack of the Sabertooth; Lake Placid 2; The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas-X- Killer/evil child - Clive Barker's The Plague; John Carpenter's Village of the Damned; Village of the Damned; The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane-X- Giallo - Black Sabbath-X- J horror - Ju-on (The Grudge)-X- MST3K/rifftrax/CT - MST3K: Godzilla vs. Megalon-X- film and its remake - The Mummy (1932)/The Mummy (1999); John Carpenter's Village of the Damned/Village of the Damned; House of Usher (1960)/House of Usher (2008); The Blob (1958)/The Blob (1988)-X- based on a video game -Doom; Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction-X- based on a novel - Masterpiece Theatre: Bram Stoker's Dracula; Sleepy Hollow; Thr3e; The Island of Dr. Moreau; The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane; House of Usher; The Picture of Dorian Gray-X- directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis or Uwe Boll or Ulli Lommel -BloodRayne 2: Deliverance (Dir. Uwe Boll)-X- won an Academy Award -- any category - An American Werewolf in London (Best Make-up)-X- silent film - Nosferatu; The Phantom of the Opera-X- Criterion version film - The Blob; Night of the Living Dead-X- with commentary -The Wolf Man-X- film and at least two of its sequels - Blade; Blade II; Blade III: Trinity; Resident Evil; Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Resident Evil: Extinction-X- anthology film -Black Sabbath-X- takes place on a holiday - Halloween; The Nightmare Before Christmas-X- takes place in space - Doom; Event Horizon-X- takes place on or under the sea - Ghost Ship; Virus-X- animated film - The Nightmare Before Christmas-X- called "Night of the ..." - Night of the Living Dead; Night of the Comet-X- called "Return of the ..." - Return of the Curse-X- called "Revenge of the ..." - Revenge of the Creature-X- called "Attack of the ..." - Attack of the Sabertooth-X- with the words "Living Dead" in the title - Night of the Living Dead

I didn't finish the checklist or make 100, but I did watch some great horror movies that I otherwise wouldn't have seen, so in that vein, the challenge was a success. Hope you all had as much fun as I did.

(One film could fill multiple items. Example: Dracula would fill one for decade, rating, actor, vampire, based on novel, and maybe others as well.)
(Use a * to mark first time viewings.)
(Change "---" to "-X-" or some similar mark when you have completed that line item.)
(First one to fill in all the blanks wins a random DVD from Trevor.)

Reserved, I did this in 2006 and I think I got 30 or so...of course I was working my azz off for a gubernatorial election. So this year I'm shooting for much more - now that I'm a lazy state worker...LOL!

I think I'm done for the month. I'm busy tomorrow night and planning to go out on Friday as well. So it's doubtful I'll get another movie in, though we'll see. But ending with The Monster Squad is a good finale. Though I certainly had fun catching up with various films I hadn't watched in years.

86. Frankenstein
87. Bride of Frankenstein
88. Son of Frankenstein
89. Ghost of Frankenstein
91. House of Frankenstein
92. House of Dracula
93. Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein
94. Young Frankenstein

95. Brides of Dracula
96. Kiss of the Vampire
97. The Vampire's Kiss
98. Dance of the Vampires
99. Night of the Sorcerer
100. Fright Night

37. Night of the Living Dead (Original)
38. Dawn of the Dead (Original)
39. Day of the Dead (Original)
40. Land of the Dead
41. Diary of the Dead
42. Night of the Living Dead (Remake)
43. Dawn of the Dead (Remake)
44. Day of the Dead (Remake)
45. Night of the Living Dead 3-D
46. The Return of the Living Dead
47. Return of the Living Dead Part II
48. Return of the Living Dead 3

Oct. 6 (Haunted Houses Vol. 1)

49. The Amityville Horror (Original)
50. Thirteen Ghosts (Original)
51. House on Haunted Hill (Original)
52. House on Haunted Hill (Remake)
53. Return to House on Haunted Hill
54. The Shining
55. The Haunting (Original)
56. The House Where Evil Dwells

Oct. 7 (Stuart Gordon Marathon)

57. Re-Animator
58. King of the Ants
59. Castle Freak
60. The Pit and the Pendulum
61. Dolls
62. From Beyond

1. Martin - Very well-written Romero vampire flick, even though some of the editing is questionable. It's a good spin on a tired subgenre with a wonderfully subtle performance from John Amplas as the film's eponymous lead. 8/10.

Oct 4th

2. The Funhouse **- One of Tobe Hooper's better films. Kevin Conway gives a great range of performances as the different carnival barkers. Decent make-up fx. 8/10.

Oct 5th

3. Ernest Scared Stupid - A Halloween tradition, I've been watching this every year since it came out. Incredibly stupid, but a lot of fun and charm. 7/10.

4. Maniac** - Lustig's best film and Spinell's best role. Savini's shotgun blast to the face has to be one of my favorite on-screen deaths of all-time. 9/10.

5. Damien: The Omen 2* - Decent sequel to the fantastic original, the film is lacking a major villain but the story is interesting enough to keep it from getting boring. At least it's got some great deaths. 7/10.

Oct. 7th

6. The Omen III: The Final Conflict* - Very weak final entry in the Damien Thorn trilogy. Sam Neill does a good job in the role, but much of the film is just wasted on pointless exposition. There was potential here, but it was squandered. 5/10.

Oct. 10th

7. Trick 'r Treat* - Mike Dougherty's fantastic anthology film is as awesome as you may have heard. 4 tales are interwoven throughout the course of Halloween night... and it's one of the best horror films I've seen in years. I can't believe WB isn't releasing this. 10/10.

Oct. 14th

8. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer* - If only the film was as cool as the name... It's fairly fun, but the monster slaying doesn't really happen until 70 min in of a 87 min movie. Plus, the main baddie looks kinda lame. I hope the planned sequels are a bit better. 6/10.

Oct. 16th

9. Horror of Dracula* - Gorgeous, atmospheric Hammer take on the Dracula legend. The pairing of Lee and Cushing is always great to watch no matter what they're doing. 8/10.

Oct. 18th

10. A Nightmare on Elm St. 5: The Dream Child** - This is where the series really started to suck. Bad. Aside from a few cool deaths this is one pretty forgettable. 6/10.

Oct. 20th

11. Dexter: S1* - It took me most of the month to finish the first season, so I'm counting it dammnit! This was a fantastic season and a great show I should have given more of a chance to when it first aired. Can't wait to pick up S2. 9/10.

Oct. 23rd

12. Burnt Offerings* - Pretty boring haunting flick with Oliver Reed hamming it up and Karen Black looking like a weird cross-eyed gargoyle. Nothing much happens... at all. I wanted it to be better. 5/10.

Oct. 24th

13. Let The Right One In* - Excellent Swedish vampire flick about a young boy who's tired of being bullied and needs a friend. He gets one in the form of a 12-year old girl, who isn't quite what she seems. Beautifully shot. 8/10.

1. *The Haunting of Julia (a.k.a. Full Circle) (1977)4/10 - Kinda boring with a few decent Rosemary's Baby-ish moments, stars the same woman too.
2. *Homicidal (1961) 6.5/10 - William Castle movie with a great twist
3. *The Werewolf of Washington (1973)6/10 - Not nearly as bad as I expected; A pretty decent satire, especially for the time it was made and the budget it was probably made on...interesting for Quantum Leap fans to see Dean Stockwell, the hologram guy, as a werewolf political advisor
4. *The Phantom of the Opera (1943) w/ commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen 6/10 - Universal film with Claude Rains. I loved Claude Rains in Invisible Man, but I think he was wrong for this role. The Phantom wasn't the least bit menacing to me in this one.

October 2nd

5. *WILD CARD 1The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked (2000)7/10 - 51 min. Universal Documentary - Enjoyed the doc. better than the film actually cause it traced a lot of the history of several of the most popular Phantom of the Opera films
6. *Vampire's Kiss (1989)8/10 - I don't get the hate for this one. Cage is gloriously over the top, and the 2nd half of this movie is absolutely hilarious.
7.*P2 (2007)7/10 - Surprisingly good thriller with Wes Bentley, written and produced by Alexandre Aja...there's an eye piercing in this one that rivals anything Lucio Fulci ever did
8. *Count Dracula (1977) - BBC 2 part TV Mini-Series 5/10 - I'd heard great things about this adaptation for years but, although it follows the book better than most adaptations in many regards, it ended up being mostly an overly-long melodrama that bored me to tears more often than not. The guy that played Dracula was not particularly menacing or right for the role in my opinion. Plus, for a nearly 3 hour movie, he had very little screen time comparatively. Most plot points in this that followed the book were explored better in Coppola's version, minus the love story that was a conceit for Coppola's film not in the book.

October 3rd

9. The Shining (1980)10/10 - Kubrick's version on Blu-ray, looks like a million bucks - an all time classic, not just in the horror genre either
10. *WILD CARD 230 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007)6/10 (short series compiled into Short Film) - Some decent Gore bits, but a little too short to make much of the story, even having watched the film.
11. *WILD CARD 330 Days of Night: Dust to Dust (2008)6/10 (short series compiled into Short Film) - I felt exactly the same way about this one as its predecessor - worth watching but adds nothing to the base story and is generally forgettable despite a few decent moments here and there.

October 4th

12. *The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)7/10 - Hallmark movie - It was a little dry in the horror department up until the last few moments, but that's more or less how the original story and Disney cartoon are as well. I enjoyed it pretty well though. It'd be good to show to a literature class, even though there's a bit more speculation spelled out more in the film than there is in the story it's based on. - It still leaves it up to the viewer to decide what happens to Icabod ultimately, but they steer you into a less general direction. I guess you could argue the original story does somewhat as well, so I was fine with it.
13. *The Dark (2005)6/10 - Maria Bello, decent thriller borrows liberally from The Ring
14. *Double Vision (2002)6/10 - David Morse, Supernatural Asian Thriller

October 5th

15. *The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1976)7/10 - Jodie Foster's always been a great actress. Even as a young kid she was better than most. I always thought this was categorized as horror and is in the horror sections of most stores, so I'm counting it, as that's what I thought it was as I watched it. There's certainly mystery and thriller aspects to it, people die, and it's definitely moody all throughout. It was good, but not at all what I thought it was.
16. *Crawlspace (1986)6/10 - Klaus Kinski makes the whole movie. He's naturally off-putting and sadistic-looking
17. *WILD CARD 4The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958)10/10 - Disney animated version - used to love watching this every Halloween, and all year round. I still love it today just as much.
18. *She-Wolf of London (1946)4/10 - Universal - Pretty boring except for the very end and felt kinda long despite the rather short running time of only about an hour
19. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)10/10 - On Blu-ray, looks the best it ever has, especially the outdoor daytime scenes. I appreciate this film more every time I see it. It's truly a classic. When I first watched it about ten years ago or so I didn't see nearly as much in it as I do now.
20. Child's Play (1988)8/10 w/ commentary by director Tom Holland and Tim Sullivan downloaded for free from www.iconsoffright.com - Excellent Commentary, should have been on the DVD - syncs very well better than most Rifftraxs. - Probably the best doll coming to life horror film ever made - this scared the bejesus out of me as a kid especially since I had a cousin that had a My Buddy doll that Chucky was loosely based on.

October 6th

21. *2001 Maniacs (2005)6.5/10 - Robert Englund Tongue-in-cheek romp with some nice kills and genre trappings
22. *The Lodger (1944)5/10 - A lot of folks call this one of if not the best films of the 40's, I don't see it. It's well-acted and photographed, but there's never any mystery at all as to who is the killer, and it's supposed to be a macabre mystery. However, from practically the first scene you pretty much know the whole deal.
23. Psycho (1960) w/ commentary by Stephen Rebello 10/10 - Excellent All Time Classic with a nice commentary track
24. The Amittyville Horror (2005)7.5/10 - remake with Ryan Reynolds - Unlike most cases, I prefer this remake about 10 times more to the completely uneventful and rather boring original. I'd take this film over any from the original Amityville series.

October 7th

25. *Hour of the Wolf (1968)6/10 - Ingmar Bergman - I guess I just don't get Bergman's sensibilities. There were some nicely filmed moments of oddness near the end of the film, but I'm just not a fan of Bergman's drab pacing and depressing characters. I didn't have a clue what was going on really until I watched the film and the making of doc. after it too.
26. *Hangover Square (1945)5/10 - This film stars the same guy from the Lodger and suffers from the same problem. It claims to be a mystery, but you pretty much always know what's going on.

EXTRA:Watched All The New Documentaries on The New Psycho DVD - Some nice stuff there with a lot of current folks talking about Hitchcock

October 8th

27. *WILD CARD 5The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror X8/10 - I love all the Treehouse of Horror episodes. They're usually the first thing I watch when I get a new season set.
28. *Mother of Tears (2007)7/10 - Dario Argento's long-awaited end to his loosely connected 3 Mothers Trilogy that started with Suspiria and Inferno - It's not shot at all like those films and bares little resemblance to them up until the final couple minutes - It holds up well on its own, and though it wasn't what I expected, I wasn't disappointed - It was quite violent and somewhat perverse in parts with a few nice surprises - This film's much grander than its predecessors and tries to bring the intensity up a few notches
29. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)5/10 Not nearly as good as the first. It explains the origin story of Candyman and his lineage a bit which is interesting, but that unfortunately I think humanizes the character too much and confuses the audience a bit when he becomes somewhat selective in his killing process.
30. *It's Alive (1974)6/10 - I expected a comedy but got a decent low budget thriller with minimalistic old school effects and camera trickery

October 9th

31. *Premonition (2004)6.5/10 - Japanese Horror film - An interesting twisty tale, very twilight zoney, even if it is a bit melodramatic and gets a tad bit confusing with the logic at the end
32. *Satan's Little Helper (2004)6/10 - I expected a total crapfest from this one, but this low budgeter took the ridiculousness of the concept and actually made it work in a legit thriller way, with some dark humor, not at all what I expected. The kid's annoying though.
33. Fright Night (1985) w/ commentary by director Tom Holland, Tim Sullivan, Jonathan Stark, and Chris Sarandon downloaded from www.iconsoffright.com8/10 - I appreciate this one more each time I watch it, and the commentary is excellent - I wish they did effects more old school like this one still today.
34. *The Happening (2008)1/10 - Should be re-titled "The Crappening" - By far M. Night Shyamalan's worst, albeit his most commercial flick and first R-rated effort. M. Night has to be the MOST pretentious director of our time, maybe of all time. He made 2 pretty decent films: Unbreakable and Sixth Sense. It's been a steady and devastating decline from there. The only reason to watch this film would be for the unexpected nature of the concept of people suddenly killing themselves in horrible ways. That turns hokey pretty soon though and almost becomes a parody by the end. If you've seen any of his films, you'll probably be expecting a ridiculous twist, and this is the worst one yet. I guessed it long before I ever watched the film. I only watched this cause I used a promo code and got it for free from a Redbox machine.

October 10th

35. Dead of Night (1945)8/10 - the oldest and one of the best horror anthologies I know of
36. From Beyond The Grave (1973)6.5/10 - Amicus horror anthology
37. *Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)6.5/10 - Pretty cool, but the main reason to watch this film is for Robert Englund's slapstick humor and the monster fight at the end

October 11th

38. *WILD CARD 6The Making of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer 8/10- approx. 50 mins. - excellent doc. with tons about the making of the gore and effects
39. *Storm Warning (2007)5.5/10 - Dimension Extreme - Fairly intense psychological thriller about a couple being kept hostage by a crazy bunch of murderous Australian hillbillies - Not really my cup of tea for the most part, but it has a few good gore moments there at the end
40. *Automaton Transfusion (2006)3/10 - Dimension Extreme - The cinematography on this film felt disorienting to me and took me out of the picture from start to finish. Not only did they do the whole shaky cam on most of the action sequences which is already a tired trick to hide shoddy effects, but the main problem was the film felt like it was never playing in real time. It felt like everything was going 50% faster than reality which gave me a headache. If it hadn't been for that, this would've been a halfway decent zombie flick with some decent gore. For a much better high school based zombie flick watch Dance of the Dead.
41. *The Hitcher (2007)6/10 - nothing near the original, but better than most as far as remakes go
42. *Dead Silence (2007)6.5/10 I really liked the ending and the freaky ventriloquist dolls and ghost lady. It got a little dry in spots though, but I loved the overall gothic feel and look to the picture.
43. *Pumpkinhead (1988)6/10 - Probably one of the best looking monsters of the last couple decades. Stan Winston was a genius. The film could've been better, seemed to lack direction in what exactly it wanted to be...a nice twist to the revenge film genre with a gothic horror twist though.

October 12th

44. *Ichi The Killer (2001)6.5/10 - I expected more from this after all I've heard about it. Ichi isn't at all what I expected. Apparently that's not even Ichi on the cover of the DVDs. Some nice gore moments, but I've seen better gangster flicks, martial arts flicks, and gore flicks. This did have elements of all those though, so it gets points for that.
45. *The Man With The Screaming Brain (2005)6/10 - Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi and great. The film could've been a little better though. I'm sure I'll enjoy the commentary though, as all Bruce's commentaries are great. Ted actually stole the show surprisingly as the mad scientist's assistant
46. *The Messengers (2007)6/10 - Pang Brothers film - About what I expected, not near as bad as most films like this these days, but not near as good as some of the Pang Bros. other efforts like The Eye and Re-cycle
47. *The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007)6.5/10 - I like many others enjoyed the core idea of this film, but once the mystery is uncovered I felt like it could've been pulled together a little better. It's certainly unlike anything else I've seen before though and was entertaining throughout.

October 13th

48. Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht (1979)5.5/10 - My first time watching the German language version, though I'd seen the simultaneously shot English language version a number of years ago on IFC. - I remember liking this a lot more years ago - It had some nice shots and atmosphere, and Klaus Kinski looked great as Dracula, but the film was boring overall for the most part.
49. *Monster High (1989)5/10 - Absolutely 80's and absolutely ridiculous but somewhat entertaining
50. *Mary Reilly (1996)5.5/10 - A good period drama but not that great as a horror film simply cause there wasn't much horror. I didn't like the dicotomy between Jekyll and Hyde in this one. It was obviously not much of a transformation, much like Clark Kent and Superman. It was obviously John Malkovich with just slightly different hair and no real hideousness. The CGI transformation looked kinda cool though, even if there wasn't much difference with the overall result.

October 14th

51. *Teeth (2007)7/10 - Dimension Extreme - some cringe-worthy moments in this one, especially for guys
52. Gremlins (1984) w/ Director and Cast Commentary, also listened to half of the Director/Producer/Special Effects Artist commentary 8/10 - A nice family-friendly monster flick that I grew up with
53. *Eight Legged Freaks (2002)6.5/10 - a fun b-movie monster flick sendup of the old 50's movies - much better than I expected

October 15th

54. *Sublime (2007) 6.5/10 - I wouldn't recommend watching this if you have even the slightest fear of doctors or hospitals...this could only make it worse
55. Santa's Slay (2005)7/10 - Hilarious! The first scene alone is required viewing where a number of big name stars get ripped to pieces. Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame produced this. If you're a pro wrestling fan, this is required viewing to see none other than Bill Goldberg as the demonic son of Satan known as Santa Claus.
56. *Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)7/10 - A very unexpected twist
57. *It's Alive 2: It Lives Again (1978)7/10 - better than the original in my opinion, much more engaging from beginning to end

October 16th

58. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)6.5/10 nice family flick with good special effects for the time

October 17th

59. *Return From Witch Mountain (1978)6/10 - I may have watched this when I was young, but I don't recall it - more of the same with better villains but not much more to offer storywise
60. *It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987)5.5/10 - They tried to make you sympathize with the monster kids in this one which made it a bit ridiculous and a little too over-dramatic by the end - I was disappointed that none of these films were the schlocky fun fest of idiocy I expected, though this one probably came the closest to that.

October 18th

61. *Stephen King's Desperation (2006)6/10 - Starts off really strong and dwindles from there into fluff - I could've done without all the crazy ancient language talk and with more of Ron Perlman who was the best thing about the movie with his character
62. *Zombie Honeymoon (2004)6/10 Decent although you pretty much know what's going to happen by the set up - It's probably the most romantic zombie film though
63. *Lightning Bug (2004)7/10 - perhaps a little more drama than horror, but definitely has a few horror moments and an overall tone - The girl from That 70's show was pretty hot in this one
64. *Nightmare Detective (a.k.a. Akumu Tantei) (2006)6/10 - Dimension Extreme - Good set up and overall concept but falls apart a bit by the ending
65. *The Undertaker and His Pals (1966)5.5/10 - very schlocky with lots of silly gore like Herschell Gordon Lewis' stuff

October 19th

66. *Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2004)8.5/10 - My favorite Broadway musical done in a grandiose way by Joel Schumacher, almost makes up for his forays into the Batman universe...almost
67. *Vampire Journals (1997)6/10 - a little better than expected even if it is low-budgeted and simplistic in its story
68. *Rogue (2007)7.5/10 - Dimension Extreme - Probably the best Crocodile horror film I've ever seen

EXTRA:Watched Behind The Mask: The Story of the Phantom of the Opera from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Version Blu-ray8/10

October 20th

69. *Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution (2006)7/10 - pretty disturbing but interesting and very different, very twilight zoney
70. Identity (2003)9.5/10 - One of my favorite psychological horror thrillers of the last decade
71. *Dance of the Dead (2008)8/10 - The best zombie flick since Planet Terror

October 21st

72. Land of the Dead (2005)7/10 - The first time I watched this in the theater, I liked it pretty decently as a zombie flick but was still somewhat disappointed and considered it the lesser of Romero's first 4 zombie films. Upon subsequent viewings, I'm taking to it more and more and appreciate more of what was attempted with this one. It's more of what Day of the Dead could have been if it were made as a more open and less isolated film. Sure there are things that could be done better here and there, but as a zombie flick, it's better than most. This is about the 3rd time I've seen it now, possibly 4th. It doesn't hurt to watch it in Blu-ray as I did here.

October 22nd

73. *Black Sabbath (1963)7/10 - A very nice Mario Bava Italian horror anthology film with Borris Karloff. Great for fans of old school gothic horror.
74. *Masters of Horror: Right To Die (2007)7/10 - Actually one of the better MOH episodes I've seen with great special effects makeup by Greg Nicotero
75. *Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (2007)8/10 - I wasn't the biggest fan of MOH Season 1 with a couple episodes as the exception. However, Season 2 is looking good so far. This is another one of the best I've seen. Stuart Gordon, the king of H. P. Lovecraft adaptations, brings to life his first Edgar Allan Poe adaptation casting Jeffrey Combs (a.k.a. Herbert West of Re-Animator fame) as Poe himself. Combs is the best Poe I've seen put to screen surprisingly, and I've seen several attempts at the character. This is also probably one of the most faithful adaptations of a Poe short story ever put to screen but with a twist - the twist being Poe is the protagonist of his own story in this one which is fitting since he was practically mad himself.
76. *Eaten Alive (1976)4/10 - Tobe Hooper movie about a man-eating alligator. Though it had a lot of the same look and feel of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it's nowhere near as good. The plot had very little to offer, and there wasn't much to the characters.
77. *The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)5/10 - It has Christopher Lee in it, but sadly, he was a secondary character and just like Mary Reilly, the transformation was little more than a hair cut and a shave. Pretty bland overall.
78. Night of the Creeps (1986)8/10 - One of the best 80's horror flicks and most fun for my money. I can't believe this still doesn't have a release. It's vastly superior I think to the director's second film, Monster Squad which finally got a release. Until it finally gets a DVD release, I'll have to watch my bootleg ebay DVD that includes a pretty good transfer, albeit fullscreen, and an alternate for cable only ending....not too shabby for $6. It reminds me a great deal of Slither with the slugs.
79. The Frighteners: Director's Cut (1996)8/10 - I haven't seen this in years, and it was the first time watching the Director's Cut for me which I think is probably a lot better. This film really revolutionized CGI and brings a lot of elements together that ultimately culminate into a really entertaining movie, and poor Michael J. Fox's last hint of real awesomeness.

October 23rd

80. *The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)6/10 - A Hammer vampire film without Dracula or Christopher Lee. No one is particularly menacing, and I don't fully understand the ending, though I appreciate its unique approach. Good scenery and sets all around as is usually the case with Hammer period films. Recommended as a decent Hammer vampire film that takes a detour from the usual route. It's not required viewing by any means though.
81. *Paranoiac (1963)6.5/10 - A decent psychological horror thriller from Hammer starring Oliver Reed. It's got enough to it to keep you watching, but it's not a classic.
82. *The Strangers: Unrated version (2008)7.5/10 - I thought this one was a nice simplistic but effective thriller. They could have done more with it to make it better, but this movie goes to show that real suspense is more than just a bunch of jump scares. The realism of this film really adds to the effect. I've never seen the original foreign film it was based on, but I can definitely recommend this one.

October 24th

83. *House (2008)7/10 - No this ain't the 80's comedy/horror of the same name with George Wendt. This is the latest one starring Michael Madsen, who seems to be cropping up in quite a few pretty decent cult flicks lately. This one meanders a bit into confusing weirdness from time to time, but it starts into the action straight away and never really lets up. It definitely brings some unique ideas to the table and has a really cool ending that really saves it and makes some of the weirdness make a little more sense. Definitely worth a look. It's not what you'd expect.
84. *Manos: The Hands of Fate - MST3K Version (1966)Film Itself = 1/10 MST3K Version = 6.5/10 - This was my first time watching this after wanting to for years. I finally discovered that Google Video has about every other episode of MST3K in its entirety for FREE. I can't imagine watching the regular version of this without commentary. It's a hoot with the MST3K dudes though.
85. *Zombie Strippers (2008)4.5/10 - Hey, the title says it all. Not nearly as much zombie action as I'd prefer, but it's definitely something different. There are a couple good gore bits, and Robert Englund turns in a nice offbeat performance as usual. It's not quite the mix I expected though.
86. *Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)7/10 - One of the better Hammer Dracula films with some of the goriest moments of the franchise...and all amazingly with a G Rating
87. Halloween (1978)10/10 - My favorite horror film of all time. I watch this one at least a couple times a year, and of course I always have to get it in around this time of year. It's been emulated and immitated many times, even remade to horrid effect, but you just can't beat the original. Even John Carpenter can't make something this good again it seems unfortunately.
88. *Diary of the Dead (2008)8/10 - I really don't get the hate for this film. I mean sure the social commentary is laid on pretty thick, but that's always been the charm of Romero zombie flicks. I expected little from this one and was pleasantly surprised in the end. With repeated viewings, this could eventually become my 3rd favorite in the series behind Night and Dawn. Watching this made me wish I had gone to the pre-screening here in Nashville where George was doing a Q&A afterwards. I won't make that mistake again based on reviews if he comes around with his next flick.

October 25th

89. *Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006)7/10 - This one was highly entertaining and gripping all throughout with some intense violence and craziness. However, I was a little disappointed with the ending reveal. I guess with supernatural stuff you're always going to reach that point where you say, "Do I really buy into this...or not?" Though the ending got a bit shaky, it wasn't enough to discredit the pretty awesome 50 some odd minutes leading up to it, and with the final few seconds they tie things together suitably for my taste but perhaps not for everyone's.
90. Dawn of the Dead: Unrated Remake (2004)8/10 - Usually remakes are blasphemous and wicked in my book, but every once and a while you actually get a really good one with a new spin on the subject that works. This is one of those rare instances. It's not Romero's Dawn of the Dead, but it's a nice alternate take on the same world.
91. *Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007)4/10 - This was just friggin' retarded. I've really been liking MOH Season 2 so far, but this one was laughable in the storyline. I mean George Washington wanting to start a nation of children-eating cannibals and a cult that wants to preserve his historical image?...come on.
92. *Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs (2006)5.5/10 - I really wanted to like this one. I mean there is a good idea in here, it's just a little convoluted. It pulls together better by the very end, but it's somewhat anti-climatic. The great battle at the end with the beast doesn't pay off very well, and the twist that pulls it together just seems rushed or something. By the end of the journey, it just doesn't seem like the right ending to me, and yet, that seems to be what the whole story is built upon. So while I didn't outright hate it, I felt it didn't live up to its potential.

October 26th

93. *[REC] (2007)8.5/10 - Up until about the halfway point I didn't know if I was really going to get into this or not, but that last 30 mins. is relentless. It definitely felt like real footage which pretty much makes the horror for this one. A lot of it is in what you don't see. This film to me is basically 28 Days Later inside an apartment building in Spain shot like The Blair Witch Project. It takes it a little bit to pick up steam, but it ends up being pretty cool and about a million times better than the Blair Witch Project.
94. *Hard Rock Zombies (1985)0/10 - This one was an utter disappointment! It really sucks hard. I thought any movie about zombie rock stars trying to thwart Hitler's plan to take over the world would have to have at least some funny camp value going for it, but alas I was wrong.
95. Dog Soldiers (2002)8/10 - One of the best and most inventive werewolf films that helped breathe new life into a tired and forgotten genre. Stars Kevin McKidd, the star of one of my favorite 2007 shows Journeyman.
96. Halloween II (1981)9/10 - For me personally, this is THE most perfect and best horror sequel because it picks right up immediately following part I, though it was filmed 3 years later, and it flows seamlessly. Sure it falls into more genre conventions since it was coming in just as the big slasher craze of the 80's was taking off. It's still a great sequel, and though I love Michael Myers, by all rights the series probably should have ended here as John Carpenter intended. I say this is the best sequel because I consider Dawn of the Dead more of its own intenty rather than a direct sequel though it is in the same universe.

October 27th

97. Saw IV (2007)7/10 - I'll be the first to say this franchise is being stretched and that by all rights the series should have ended with the death of Jigsaw in part 3. However, I also have to admit that no matter how I come into a new Saw flick, I usually leave satisfied with how they tie it all together in the end. This one is no different. With this one they essentially set up the base elements for a whole new trillogy or beyond. Part 5 is out now, and I'll be watching that in a few days. Part 6 is coming next year. I do hope that is the last one though. It is nice to know on some level just as a horror fan that a horror franchise is doing this well and is being received as well as these films have been. It may eventually go down as the most successful horror franchise before it's all said and done.
98. *Special Effects (1984)6/10 - A pretty interesting concept for 1984, blurring the lines between film and reality. It could have been done better and has been since, but this was a nice thriller for the era and budget...another pretty decent film from genre director Larry Cohen.
99. Waxwork (1988)7.5/10 - This is a fun 80's movie starring the same Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame. There have been other wax museum films, most popularly House of Wax, but overall, I think this is the most original use of the entire concept. The special effects, particularly on the werewolf, are surprisingly good too.

October 28th

100. *Waxwork 2: Lost in Time (1992)6.5/10 - I have seen the first Waxwork a number of times down thru the years, but I honestly don't recall ever seeing this one. Perhaps I did once, but I'm gonna say it was a new one for me. This changes the concept that I loved so much from the first movie and flat out makes it a time travel film. This one plays up the comedy with a lot more slapstick and tons of famous movie parodies including Aliens, the original The Haunting, and Dawn of the Dead. There's also a nice small but memorable role by Bruce Campbell which perfectly fits in with the tone of this film, going back to his Evil Dead 2 roots a bit. However, this film does fall a tiny bit flat from about the 50 min. to 80 min. mark where it basically lingers as a middle ages Arthurian Sword and Princesses kind of flick. It really kicks into action with some of the more memorable parodies in the last 15-20 mins. though.
101. *The Dark Hours (2005)7/10 - A surprisingly good low budget psychological horror thriller with some nice twists and turns. Starts out being one thing then becomes something completely different.
102. *Los Monstruos del Terror (a.k.a. Dracula Vs. Frankenstein) (1970)3.5/10 - I picked up a cheap DVD called Dracula Vs. Frankenstein thinking it was another B-movie from the same era of the same title with Lon Chaney Jr. in one of his last roles. However, instead I found this was actually the 3rd entry in the Paul Naschy Werewolf series where he plays the ill-fated Waldemar Daninsky. He'd go on to play this role in 13 films and make another wolfman film in between that was slated to be in the series, only he hated the script so much that he didn't use the same character name to connect it to the series. This one though is a very odd scatter shot of ideas that just ultimately don't connect in the end. This could be because I watched a butchered U.S. crappy vhs transfer public domain sort of DVD that's probably missing several minutes of plot from what I hear. Basically the premise is these aliens come to Earth and re-animate our greatest monsters to try to take over the world, including The Mummy, the Wolfman (played by Naschy), Frankenstein, and Dracula. In the end though it all seems rather poorly planned, and the aliens themselves can't even keep their plan together. It could have been interesting but just fell apart into a mess as many of these sorts of films of this era tend to do. Oh, and for the record, Dracula and Frankenstein have no confrontation whatsoever in this one oddly enough.
103. *Pulse (2006)4/10 - This concept had some real potential, but it just meanders through, never really hitting its stride until around the ending possibly. The tone changes immediately from feeling like a rather isolated incident to being a global meltdown. If they'd escalated to the point of the apocalyptic world sooner, it may have held my attention more. Kristen Bell was decent, playing a much more sympathetic character than her character on Heroes. I just don't have much to say about this one other than it was a missed opportunity.
104. *Director's Cut: A Killer Comedy (2003)4/10 - A decent concept though it has sorta been done and done much better. It's neither all that funny or horrorific. They pull away on all the good potential gore scenes and just imply the horror, which is great if you have a great riveting movie, but with a wannabe schlock-fest, it requires gore and tons of it if it really wants to be what it claims to be. The ending was decent, but the pacing overall is slow and plodding, the characters are stereotypical, and the plot is muddy at best. I did finally get around to watching this rather obscure title though that I got in a trade on DVDtalk about 4 years ago.

October 29th

105. *Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006)7/10 - This was pretty cool. It's not one I'll probably watch over and over again, but it's very intriguing and is a nice story that hasn't really been told.
106. *Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)7/10 - Vincent Price is always entertaining, and this is his most over the top character. I'd seen the first film but never this one. It's probably just as entertaining as the original.
107. *Bruiser (2000)6/10 - This film isn't at all what I expected, and though it was really odd and not at all like a Romero film really, I found myself strangely enjoying it. I doubt it'd be one I'd revisit often, but it's worth a look as long as you're not expecting a slasher film or anything of the sort. It's sort of an odd, darkly humorous twist on the revenge film with a bit of satire.
108. Child's Play 2 (1990)7/10 - I've always enjoyed this film about as much as the original.
109. Child's Play 3 (1991)6/10 - I know I've seen this one a couple times before, but I honestly didn't remember about the entire second half of it, particularly the stuff at the theme park. I thought they cast the older Andy pretty well. The fact that it takes place amongst a military school full of army weapons allows for some more over the top moments than in the other films. It's not as good a film though since Chucky isn't even particularly after Andy from the first two films anymore. It's got some interesting stuff to offer though and probably effectively bridges the gap between the horror tone of the first two and more campy comedy tone of Bride and Seed of Chucky.
110. The Thing (1982)9/10 - Watched it on Blu-ray for the first time, and it looked and sounded fantastic, better than ever before. This film is a classic, one of Carpenter's best with some of the best old school special effects ever put to celluloid. It's a movie full of paranoia that contrasts tight enclosed spaces with vast empty snowy landscapes. Its pacing broods at a slower pace than current horror films, but that makes those freakout moments all the more powerful and effective, even when you've seen the film numerous times.

October 30th

111. *Black Sheep (2006)6.5/10 - Zombie Sheep...what's not to love, right? Well, with the exception of just a couple of instances, the sheep looked pretty run of the mill mostly. There were a few humorous scenes, particularly with the men turning into sheep and the sheep driving a car in one scene. Somehow overall though I expected more from this one just in the ludicrous possibilities. The idea of it was better than the execution of it.
112. Feast (2005)8/10 - Love this movie. It reminds me of a demented version of Night of the Living Dead only with beasts instead of zombies. I hope the sequel holds up.

October 31st

113. *Inside (2007)6/10 - Dimension Extreme French title. I expected more from this. I can't decide if this one is too clever for its own good or just isn't as clever as it claims to be.
114. *Saw V (2008)6/10 - The first half of this one seemed a little bit forced and plodding, but I got into it as it progressed and started liking the new villain/protagonist, especially in the final scene. These films always close on a high note that makes me feel like forgiving a lot of things that come before it. I want the next one to be the last one though. It just feels right.

EXTRA:Watched Midnight Meat Train (2008) Sat. Nov. 1st6/10 - I expected more from this, especially with all the good reviews and the hype. However, I felt the pacing left a lot to be desired, and at 94 mins., it felt about 30 mins. too long. I really think this would have been served much better to have been adapted as a Masters of Horror episode. It was based on a Clive Barker short story. After watching the film though, I had to turn to the short story just to understand what happened. That means there was a flaw in the delivery somewhere, and I think it mainly comes from that surprise ending in the last couple minutes that completely redirects the entire picture. I was left scratching my head over this one, and still am even after understanding from the source material what happened more so.

EXTRA:Watched The Shining (1980) Sat. Nov. 1st for the first time ever in the local arthouse movie theater that's doing a Stanley Kubrick festival.10/10 - I had no idea how great and effective the soundtrack was to this film until I watched it in the theater. It was an original film print too which was awesome.

END OF CHALLENGE RECAP AND USELESS STATISTICS:

First Time Viewings: 87 or 76.3%

Titles I've Already Sold or Traded Since Watching Them For The Challenge: 43

Movies Watched on Blu-ray: 9

Movies Watched Online: 5

Rented For Free From Redbox Using Promo Codes: 4

Watched Via Comcast On Demand: 8

Movies I Do Not Own But Will Purchase As A Result of Watching Them in This Challenge: 3 ([REC], Dance of the Dead, The Strangers: Unrated)

Movies That Will Probably Give Me Lingering Nightmares:

1. Teeth (2007) - There were just far too many atrocities committed to the male genatalia for my liking in this one, the kind of imagery that stays with a a man.

Movies That Are So Bad They're...BAD! (A.K.A. Blasphemous Film Atrocities):

1. Hard Rock Zombies (1985) - They weren't very good zombies or very good rockers since all the music was pretty much the worst pop rock of the early 1980's. It doesn't help that at least a 1/3 of the film is pretty much entire performances of this crappy music that is the furthest thing from hard rock as you can get short of Yo Yo Ma.
2. The Happening (2008) - M. Night Shyamalan is the worst highest paid filmmaker in Hollywood. This film further proves why. Nobody can take decent actors and make them seem like horrible ones better than good ol' M. Night. Nobody can beat a ridiculous concept into the ground with less than subtle and irrelevant social commentary like M. Night either. I'd say M. Night is the king of doing both of these things. As wretched as it is, it's just a tiny mark above his previous film, Lady in the Water, which makes my eyes bleed and my heart cry.

Best Movies First Time Viewing:

1. [REC] (2007) - The last 30 mins. make the whole thing with a breakneck pace of realish images of horror, yet the real horror comes in what you don't see and what is hinted at.
2. Diary of the Dead (2008) - I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film despite all the bad press. I think Romero went a step in the right direction with this one.
3. Dance of the Dead (2008) - This film was great fun and for my money one of the best zombie films of the last few years.
4. The Strangers: Unrated Version (2008) - This thriller did a lot with a little and shows that true suspense can be made with use of sound and shadows.

I Can't Believe I Actually Liked These:

1. Vampire's Kiss (1989) - This film is hilarious as a dark comedy with Nic Cage. It's over the top, and I love it completely. This was the biggest surprise of all to me cause I'd heard this was crap and ended up loving it.
2. Werewolf of Washington (1973) - This actually ended up being a pretty decent satire
3. Satan's Little Helper (2004) - This actually ended up being a decent dark horror satire and wasn't at all what I expected. The only really negative about it was the kid was annoying.

What the Deuce? (Still Scratching My Head Over This):

1. Hour of the Wolf (1968) - I had to read about this one afterwards to even halfway understand what happened. I just don't get Ingmar Bergman I think.
2. Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007) - This was utterly ridiculous but has potential camp value just due to the ludicrousness of it all. An underground society of people who dress up like George Washington and Eat people...? I don't even quite know what to say about that.
3. Inside (2007) - I had to read a little about this one afterwards to really get what happened. They tried to be clever, and many folks think it turned out right. I'm not sure I'm one of them though.

Better Upon 2nd Viewing:

1. Land of the Dead (2005) - I don't know why, but I like this one more each time I watch it. I'm becoming more accepting of it as a Romero zombie film, even though the style sticks out from the others.